The field of the invention relates to antennas, and particularly to patch antennas recessed within housings of electronic devices such as computers.
Patch antennas, also called microstrip patch antennas, are common in the art. A exemplary patch antenna may include a transmission line feed, multiple dielectrics, and a metallized patch on one of the dielectrics. Conventional patch antennas are directly coupled to their feeds by coaxial cables.
When conventional patch antennas are used in electronic devices two disadvantages result. First, the coaxial cable connection requires manual disassembly if the antenna or the element to which the antenna is affixed or incorporated is extracted from the electronic device. Second, the patch antenna assembly often noticeably protrudes from the housing of the electronic device and detracts from the device""s cosmetic appearance.
A solution is needed that provides a patch antenna assembly that is easily extracted from its feed with minimal or no disassembly by the user. Additionally, the patch antenna assembly should be capable of being virtually hidden within an external housing of an electronic device.
The present invention provides an aperture-fed patch antenna assembly that is recessed into a conductive surface of an external shell of an electronic device. In one embodiment, an antenna feed attached to a removable core of the electronic device may be removed from the external shell without requiring a manual disconnecting of the antenna feed from a wireless radio modem in the electronic device. The patch antenna assembly includes a shim having an aperture therein and positioned between a primary dielectric and a printed circuit board to create a secondary dielectric between the primary dielectric and the printed circuit board. In one embodiment, the primary dielectric is ceramic and the shim is plastic.